Another Date
by MzShellSan
Summary: Five (5) times that Mai compared her dates to Naru and the First (1st) time that her date was Naru. Written for day 18 of my FicMas event, dedicated to ghostisreading.


**25 Days of FicMas**

**Day:** Eighteen

**Dedication: **GhostisReading

**Fandom: **Ghost Hunt

**Pairing: **Mai/Naru

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Ghost Hunt

**Another Date**

**-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-**

**-1-**

Mai's young. She's a sixteen year old high school student. And she was in love with her boss.

It wasn't really a secret – she could tell by the way the other's acted that they knew that somewhere in the two years she'd been working for Naru she'd managed to fall for him.

But there was one problem.

He didn't feel the same way for her.

It was frustrating, sitting there and having to coach herself on how she couldn't get anymore attached the she already was. She's spoken with her friends about it countless times and they'd come up with one solution to help her to get over her.

And that was to date.

The idea was daunting. In all her life, Mai had never been on a single date. She didn't know how they were supposed to go, what she should do, how she should act.

But despite that, here she stood in front of the train station, waiting for her first ever date to arrive.

It was night; she'd spent the afternoon at work before she'd clocked off at around six.

Yet Takashi had been more than willing to wait until it was that late to go out.

Biting her lip as she glanced down at the time, she tried not to pull out her phone to text him. It was only a couple of minutes after they were supposed to meet after all – he probably just got held up.

(In the back of her mind, she knew that Naru would never have made her wait for even a minute.)

**-2-**

After the first time, where in Takashi did show up but not until thirty minutes after their assigned time and with no excuse or explanation, Mai had written him off.

She'd almost written off dating all together but Michiru had insisted that she try at least once more. Which was how she found herself in front of a restaurant awaiting Toshiro.

Toshiro was the last guy who Mai had expected to want a date with her – he was popular with the girls and came from a good family; the exact opposite of her. But he'd seemed enthusiastic when he'd asked her out and part of Mai really hoped that this meant it would go well.

Right on time, Mai heard him calling her name and she spun around and smiled at him.

"Toshiro! I'm glad you made it," she greeted.

Chuckling, Toshiro grinned. It was boyish and Mai flushed at how cute it looked.

"Of course I did. I have a date with a beautiful girl, after all." He winked making Mai's flush deepen.

"You flatter me," Mai muttered, unable to help the small pleased feeling in her chest.

"Only because you deserve it," Toshiro promised.

Mai didn't know how to reply to that.

He seemed to catch on to that because he simply smiled and offered her his arm. "Shall we? I don't know about you but I'm more than ready to eat," he joked.

Hesitating for just a moment, Mai wrapped her arm around his and smiled. "Same."

With that said, they headed inside, quickly being seated with their menus. They filled the silence with small talk about their lives; what's been going on at school and work, the usual.

It was going so well and yet something told Mai that it wouldn't last.

Unfortunately, she was correct.

When their food finally arrive, Toshiro's eyebrows drew in, a crease forming.

"Is there something wrong?" Mai asked in concern.

"This isn't what I ordered. Is this waitress stupid or something," Toshiro asked. Unlike earlier where his voice had been kind and polite; now it was harsh.

"Is something wrong, Sir?" their waitress asked, concern on her face as she realised that one of her patrons wasn't looking very pleased.

"Yes. This isn't what I ordered."

The waitress frowned a little more, glancing over the plate. It was gyudon, just as he had ordered.

"I wanted the oyakudon," he grumbled.

"I'm so sorry sir-"

"You should be. Get this fixed up for me quickly and I'll consider not making a complaint with your manager," he hissed.

Mai watched the exchange with wide eyes, unsure of how to feel about this change in attitude.

She considered just sitting there and letting it go but she was furious. This was probably that girl's only source of income and he was sitting there threatening it like it didn't mean a thing.

She couldn't stand it.

Pushing back her chair loudly, she stood up from her seat with more elegance then she'd ever done anything else in her life.

"Mai-san?"

"I'm afraid I need to go."

Toshiro's eyebrows creased and he didn't look pleased at all. "We haven't even eaten yet," he pointed out; sideeyeing the waitress who was watching this exchange with curiosity and worry.

"I don't think I could stomach eating with you after such a ridiculous display. I've never been so disappointed in someone's true attitude. Consider this date over," she informed him firmly.

He said something in response but Mai ignored him, turning to face the waitress instead and smiling softly. "Would you be able to take get me my half of the bill?" she inquired.

"Right away Miss," she promised.

Mai smiled. "Thank you."

Within a few minutes Mai was stepping out of the restaurant feeling both disappointed and yet proud of herself. Even if the date hadn't been what she'd expected, she had been able to stand up for what she believed in and help someone who needed it.

That was worth so much more.

(In the back of her mind she knew that if it had been Naru, none of this would have happened.)

**-3-**

After her previous date, Mai was so sure that she was done with it all. But when she was on her way home a week later she bumped into a boy her age at the park she was walking through (both a shortcut and a much needed reprieve from the busy streets of Tokyo).

He had blonde hair and blue eyes; a foreigner if she had to guess.

"Sorry," she apologised immediately, managing to catch herself before she fell.

The other boy smiled. "Not at all," he assured her.

For a moment they just looked at each other, before Mai broke away from his gaze.

"I'm Taniyama Mai," she introduced shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Nakamura Michael," he introduced, smiling as he offered a small bow.

They hit it off immediately and Mai couldn't help but find herself giggling along with all the little anecdotes he was coming up with.

Catching his gaze, she flushed slightly. They were on the other side of the park now and it was about time for her to make her way home.

"This might be a little forward but would you mind if I gave you my number?" Michael asked finally.

Swallowing, Mai's immediate response was to wonder whether he was offering it so they could be friends or if he was looking for something more.

"I- Michael-san we can totally exchange numbers," she agreed finally, "but you should know that I'm only after friendship."

Michael's cheeks pinked and he nodded. "Of course. I didn't mean-" he floundered for a moment for the right thing to say before coughing to clear his throat. "If all you want to be in friends then I'm willing to take that offer."

Content with that, Mai exchanged her number with his easily enough before waving goodbye so that she could finally get home.

(Her friends would complain about the waste she told them tomorrow, but all Mai had been able to think every time Michael's eyes had caught hers was that they were the wrong shade of blue.)

**-4-**

Her fourth 'date' went well. It was with a boy from another school that Keiko had promised wasn't secretly a jerk.

And she'd been right.

He'd been nothing but kind through their entire first date. He made jokes, held her hand and smiled at her kindly.

And there-in lay the problem.

His smiles.

There was nothing wrong with them technically. It was more their frequency that threw her off.

After spending the majority of time around people like Lin and Naru, seeing someone smile so much at even the smallest of things – well; it felt kind of cheap?

It felt so bad to think like that but Mai couldn't help it. Naru might not smile frequently but when he did there was something special about it. It was something she had to earn and that made all the difference.

(In the back of her mind, the next time Daiki smiled at her she compared it to Naru's. She much preferred Naru's.)

**-5-**

After that Mai left the dates alone for a while. It wasn't until Eiichi from school asked her that she even considered going on another date.

But she'd been weak to his plead for her to just give him chance.

Which had clearly been a mistake, she recognised, as she continued to wait for him to show up – now an hour after their date was supposed to happen.

Pulling out her phone, she sent him another text and waited to see if he would reply.

When there was nothing after another fifteen minutes passed by Mai sighed. Sending off a final text telling him not to worry about it, she resigned herself to heading into work early.

As an early chirstmas present (or that's the excuse that he'd used) Naru had agreed to give her the Saturday morning off.

Riding the train the couple of stops over, she wondered into to the office with an unimpressed look at her phone as a text finally came in.

(Naru would never have 'forgotten' about their date.)

**-+1-**

"Mai! Naru told us that you wouldn't be in for a while," Ayako greeted from the couch.

Raising an eyebrow at all the irregulars sitting in at the couches, Mai struggled to get her coat off. "I wasn't going to be. I got stood up by my date so I figured that while I was nearby I'd just head in early."

"A first for everything," Yasu teased.

Sticking her tongue out, Mai hung her coat up and made her way towards the kitchenette. "Does anyone want any tea?"

The chorus of yeses wasn't a surprise but it made her giggle none-the-less.

Five minutes later she placed a tray of tea cups onto the coffee table filled to the brim with green tea before grabbing the single tea cup that contained earl grey.

"You complain about making him tea and now you're doing it while you're technically off the clock and without being asked?" Bou-san joked.

Mai grinned, shrugging sheepishly. "What can I say – I'm feeling generous."

Knocking on Naru's door, she pushed it open without waiting for a response and placed the tea cup in the usual place.

For a moment Naru actually seemed stunned before it passed and he picked up the cup; quickly taking a sip.

It took eveyrhting Mai had not to giggle.

"You aren't meant to be here for another two hours, Mai," Naru informed.

Shrugging, Mai sighed. "My morning plans didn't work out so I figured I would just come in. Why – would you rather I be later instead of early for once?"

Naru finally looked up from whatever he was doing with a raised eyebrow. "I would rather you be on time for once in your life."

Pouting, Mai threw her hands up. "I just can't win with you," she grumbled. "If it bothers you that much then I'll just leave again and come back later."

Rolling his eyes, Naru scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. You're already here – there would be no point."

Mai crossed her arms, giving him her most unimpressed look. She opened her mouth to say something in response but was cut off by Naru.

"Why didn't your morning plans work out?"

It took a minute for Mai to realise that Naru was actually showing an interest in whatever had happened and in an instant her previous anger faded into the background. "I was meant to have a date but he forgot and didn't show up," she admitted.

Something flashed in Naru's eyes for a second but it was gone before she could put her finger on what it was.

"That's... unfortunate."

Mai shook her head at how awkward Naru sounded. Kami-sama only he could make a normal chat feel weird.

"It's fine. I guess dating just isn't for me," Mai muttered, more to herself.

Smiling at Naru, she opened the door to leave. "You know where to find me if you need more tea."

Naru made a noise of assent before she let the door swing shut behind herself.

Going to sit on the couch with the other's, she frowned at the looks they were giving her.

"What?"

"Nothing, just- you don't really look too disappointed about your date," Ayako pointed out.

Mai thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "I guess because I'm not?"

"How does that work?" Bou-san asked; eyebrow raised.

Biting her lip, Mai couldn't help but play with her skirt as she spoke. "It was a last minute thing and honestly, I only agreed because he was being so polite about it. I gave up on dating a few months ago and I haven't missed it one bit. It's just – not my thing I guess?"

It felt weird to talk about this with her friends when they were also her co-workers. But then again, who else did she have to talk about it with?

"It could just be that you haven't been on a date with the right person yet," Yasu pointed out.

For once he was being subtle but Mai knew what he meant. There was only ever going to be one right person to go on a date with and that was Naru.

"I was dating to get _away_ from that possibility, Yasu," she sighed.

"Come on. Just try asking him out or something. It couldn't hurt right?" Ayako joked.

Blinking at them, Mai had to wonder for the millionth time if they were insane. "You do realise that it's my boss that you're speaking about and it could definitely hurt – my pay specifically, not to mention my job," she reminded.

None of them seemed worried about that though, already conversing about the different ways that she could go about asking him.

With a sigh, she pushed up from the couch. Maybe some paperwork and filing could serve as a good distraction from these idiots.

And it did for a little while. Unfortunately she soon ran out of things to do and found herself struggling to ignore their conversation. How they could still be on the topic of her love life was beyond her.

"Mai, tea!"

She'd never been so thankful about being asked for tea before. Getting up from her desk, she made her way over to the kitchenette to prepare the tea.

Glaring at Bou-san when he waggled his eyebrows she was quick to enter Naru's office.

Shutting the door behind herself, she placed the tea cup down and stood there for a moment.

"Did you need something?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "A thank you would be nice for a change, but since I know that isn't going to happen then a place to hide from your employees would be appreciated," she muttered, glaring at the door behind her.

"Do I want to know?"

"Probably not," Mai admitted.

Sighing, Naru motioned towards a stack of paperwork sitting on his desk. "You're welcome to work through that if you wish to hide for a while," he offered finally.

Blinking in surprise, Mai nodded after a moment. "Thank you. You're being unusually nice about this," she noted.

A smirk tugged at Naru's lips and the amusement in his eyes was enough to irritate her but also to steal her breath away.

Kami-sama she was so gone on him.

"I don't think I've ever heard someone tell me I'm being nice when I give them work to do off the clock. You were certainly the last person I expected to hear it from as well."

Flushing, Mai rolled her eyes. "Fine. I get it – you're allergic to being thanked. You just have to be a jerk about it, don't you?"

Naru didn't respond but she could practically feel him laughing at her.

Grabbing a file, she settled into the chair that was off to the side in his office to work through it all.

It felt like only an hour later when her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she'd expected to eat at the movies. She ignored it though. In a few minutes she was going to be on the clock finally – she didn't have time to go and find something to eat.

"Mai."

Glancing up from the page she was working through, Mai tilted her head.

"Go and find something to eat," he ordered.

Blinking in surprise, Mai quickly shook her head. "No I'm fine," she assured.

Naru narrowed his eyes. "It wasn't an offer."

Huffing at his tone, Mai frowned. "What about you? I've been here for two hours now and you didn't have lunch in that time either," she pointed out.

"I'm fine."

Mai rolled her eyes. "Then I'm fine too."

Turning back to her paperwork, she ignored the irritated repetition of her name in favour of falling into her previous rhythm.

So concentrated, she missed it entirely when Naru got up from his spot behind the desk, the sudden touch of his hand poking her forehead the only thing that alerted to her to his movement.

"What?"

"Come on."

Mai frowned. "What?" she repeated.

"Mai if you don't get up from your seat right now I'm going to dock your pay for not doing as your told," Naru warned.

Frowning, Mai placed down the paperwork and got up, following after Naru when he made it clear that they were leaving the office. Did he want more tea? Why didn't he just say so then?

Except, they weren't heading towards the kitchenette. In fact, they were going in the opposite direction; Naru stopping at the door to shrug on his coat.

"Well?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, "Hurry up."

Huffing, Mai rushed over to shrug on her coat as well. "Where are we going?" she asked, still trying to understand what was going on.

Naru let out a long suffering sigh and she puffed her cheeks out in response. Why was that a stupid question?

"Sometimes you're so slow," he muttered.

"Hey!"

"I'm taking you out to get something to eat, Mai."

The words barely registered before her cheeks heated. Her mind kept turning the words 'taking you out' over and over in her mind. She knew that he didn't mean it in the 'date' kind of a sense but she couldn't help but wish that he did.

"I would've been fine," she protested; though it was moot point considering how they were already halfway down the road – though where to she was unsure.

Naru ignored her easy enough, merely glancing over with a disbelieving look before returning to looking in front of him; features blank once more.

Resigning herself, Mai decided to just enjoy the little break while it lasted, eyes glancing over different things while they made their way through the busy streets of Shibuya.

It was weird, being outside of work with Naru, she decided.

Turning down a street, she blinked in surprise at the small noodle shop that was in front of her. She didn't really have _any_ expectations so it wasn't that it didn't meet them, she was just...

Okay so it wasn't what she expected Naru's first choice would be.

"Stop staring and get inside already, idiot," Naru scoffed, raising an eyebrow at her pout.

"Why do you always have to insult me?" she grumbled.

"Stop giving me reasons to and I won't."

She was about to respond but instead found herself watching as Naru frowned at the Kanji on the vending machine in front of him.

Giggling a little, Mai stepped up next to him, recalling how bad his kanji is. "What are you looking for?"

"The tenpura set," Naru allowed.

Pointing out the button, she tried not to smile too wide when he shot her a small glare before pressing it.

"What are you getting?"

Mai hummed at the machine in thought. "Maybe the katsudon set," she mused.

Before she could even register what was happening, Naru had hit the button and was paying for both of them with a swift mvoement.

"Wha- Naru!"

Raising an eyebrow, Naru smirked. "There's no need to shout, Mai. I can hear you just fine."

Groaning, she crossed her arms. "I could have paid for it myself."

Naru just rolled his eyes and headed up to the chef to hand him their tickets.

"Go find a seat."

Huffing, Mai scanned the room before spotting a small collection of tables in the corner of the room. Sitting down on the booth side, she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter when she realised that this was _almost_ like a date.

With Naru, no less.

And for the first time she hadn't compared anyone to him. Though, that made sense since it would be weird to compare Naru to Naru. But still.

"Whatever you're thinking so hard about – stop it. You'll just hurt your head," Naru informed, taking his seat.

Mai stuck her tongue out at him before letting her hand rest on her chin; pout on her lips. "You're so mean, Naru. I think!"

"Rarely."

Glaring at him, she just stuck her tongue out at him again.

For a moment she could swear that she heard him chuckle but quickly dismissed that idea. Naru never laughed at anything.

It was silent between them but it wasn't awkward and Mai relaxed into it, just sipping at the tea they had provided. It was a little watery but it wasn't too bad.

And neither was this not-date.

It wasn't some fairy tale story or some fancy date from the gossip she heard from other girls.

But there was something better about this. Something more _real_.

And when Naru caught her staring at him and smirked (making her cheeks flush once more), she found herself wishing that the rest of her dates (not that this was a date) had been like this.

(In the back of her mind she knew they never could have been – because none of her other dates had been Naru.)


End file.
